In the last five years there has been an explosion of useful digital information machines (Phones, Fax, Printers, Scanners, CDROMS, Digital cameras, Pagers, Pocket computers, digital sound systems, etc) many of which were originally analog digital machines. In most cases these digital machines have been connected to PC digital machine systems using industry hardware and software connection standards. During this same period, the explosion of the Internet has made the Internet Service Provider (ISP) with E-mail service a common (and in many cases preferred) form of message communication. Technology developed to handle the Internet/WWW/E-mail servers (i.e. Software such as HTML and JAVA) are being combined with the object oriented application developer software (e.g. C++, Visual Basic, Pearl) to solve both the company Intranet PC digital machine Network connection problems, and digital information digital machine integration problems.
Two basic approaches to integrating these digital information digital machines with the PC digital machine and integrating the PC digital machine into the worldwide communication networks have evolved. One will be referred to as the “Client/Server” approach, and the other, the “All in One” digital machine approach. A notable client/server approach is the one developed by Microsoft, who maintains the operating system for most PC digital machine's in use today. The Microsoft approach is one that requires every new digital machine recently being referred to as “digital appliances” to “Plug” into a PC digital machine (or network) and “play” for those persons who are allowed to operate that PC digital machine or network (referred to as “Plug and Play”). The client/server approach works good for sharing company database resources such as an Airline Ticketing worldwide network with many Travel Agents needing to access a common database. The approach also has some merit if very expensive resources such as specialty printers in a printing company need to be shared or maybe in the wireless network home environment when used to share resources not requiring operator interaction. But the client/server approach has not worked well when trying to integrate the many new digital information digital machines into user friendly Information systems practical for most individuals at home or office. The Client/Server approach requires a software element compatible and approved by Microsoft, for every new digital machine, which is to be connected to a PC digital machine or PC digital machine network system running under one of Microsoft's operating systems for example. This software element is of course in addition to the hardware and software elements which the digital machine manufacture already designed to make the digital machine operate without being connected to a PC digital machine.
As noted earlier Client/Server systems certainly have their role in connecting large company resources together and sharing expensive information digital machine subsystems such as printers, faxes, scanners, modems, backup units, and large company databases with many employees. The complexity for this type system along with the computer specialist required to operate them are in many cases worth the increased software, cabling, and employee training cost, when data integrity and information value to a large company is considered.
However the need for a much simpler user friendly digital machine integration approach in general has led to the popular “All in One” multiple function digital machines such as the HP 3100, 1170C, and 1175C whereby faxing, printing, scanning, and copying are done with a single housing digital machine. The more advanced “All in One” or Multifunction digital machines as they are technically known when connected to a separate PC digital machine or PC digital machine network will even let scanned documents be sent to E-mail addresses. It is this “All in One” integration which is considered a better approach for the individual, and the Small Office Home Office (SOHO) market. Another, even newer, digital information communication digital machine is the Web TV unit designed to make Web site access and E-mail retrieval (ISP access) much easier for the Home. Both of these digital machine design approaches have moved away from PC digital machine dependence, except where it is most convenient for the digital machine designer. For example in the current “All in One” digital machines a parallel printer connection to the digital machine is made so that the PC digital machine word processor can (must) be used for typing the information. The PC data is sent to be printed by the “All in One” digital machine. The same connector is also used to send scanned document data back to the PC digital machine storage unit, etc. Another very important example is that, currently, the individuals PC digital machine (or network server) must be used to send and receive documents between other PC digital machine's, Internet E-mail, or web sites. This is because even the so called “All in One” digital machines which are really single multiple function digital machines cannot in most cases even perform there multiple functions in a standalone configuration (note the HP Digital 9100C Sender or the Ricoh Fax 4800L shown at the 1998 Comdex show). Thus the current situation requires that several digital information digital machines be connected together using interface requirements produced by at least three separate industries in order to produce a larger information system. These three industries are the Communication Industry, the PC digital machine Industry (the youngest of the three), and the Peripheral Digital machine Industry. Also the youngest of the three currently has the integration responsibility of making larger and more useful information systems by connecting the smaller digital machines together. The current complexity explosion is very akin to the electronic era complexity explosion that finally abated with the advent of the integrated circuit. Then, the electronics industry manpower requirements started growing exponentially when Radio's, TV's, computers, and all Military electronic digital machines were being built by individually connecting Transistors, Resistors, Capacitors, Inductors, together according to Industry and individual company interface specifications. Today we find a similar situation in the manpower explosion for, Certified PC and Network technicians along with application programmers. Ironically it is growing for a reason similar to the growth in the electronic era mentioned plus one additional reason. The similar reason is that the PC digital machine technology explosion spread to the Peripheral Digital machine Manufacturers and the method to connect all of these digital machines together was never the responsibility of any one manufacture. Thus, connection standards between digital machines were adopted (e.g. RS232, RJ11, LPT1, BCN, WIN98, and many more) and expanded to include software and communication interface requirements such as HTML 3.2 until now a company information system may have 50 to 100 digital machines connected together by no less than 500 to 10,000 interface elements (counting software elements).
The additional reason for the complexity explosion is that the PC digital machine industry (the youngest of the three industries mentioned earlier) developed so rapidly that three additional separate industries where spawned. Also, none of the three new industries were responsible for integrating the smaller digital machines into user friendly information systems. One of the three new industries built the computers, another built the computer operating system and the third wrote application programs to make the computer fulfill more tasks. At present all three of these industries are concerned about the multiple digital machine explosion and offer various integration solutions of which the most notable, (Client/Server) was discussed earlier. Ironically, while this invention was being developed the three new industries groups along with the two older industry groups and the Federal Government were arguing about each infringing on the others territory.
The design approach taken in this invention will most likely move the integration task to either the computer manufacture or the peripheral digital machine Manufacture. The design presented herein is an integration method to incorporate multiple digital information digital machines of which each previously required a connection to a PC digital machine located in a separate housing, to be able to operate from a single digital machine. The method involves moving the elements (both hardware and software) of several digital information digital machines into a single housing, sharing these hardware and software elements in such a manner that an individual can select a useful digital machine from a simple list of available digital machines. For example, such a design would allow a PC digital machine plus an “All in One” office digital machine to be combined into a single MIMS housing with a digital machine selector switch having two choices. When the PC digital machine is selected, users can use the MIMS as a PC digital machine with built in “All in One” features (note that such a digital machine is not currently available). When the Office digital machine is selected, users can use the MIMS as an “All in One” digital machine with built in PC digital machine features (note that such a digital machine is currently not available). In the future a PC digital machine selection switch will probably not be available on most companies MIMS (the leading cause of wasted man-hours is employee use of the company PC digital machine for personal matters). Also things like PC digital machine viruses, hackers, etc, will be virtually eliminated when the company PC digital machine and client/server workstations are incorporated into MIMS workstations. Important to the manufacture is that, they can now build proprietary and less expensive hardware and software elements for the various functions to be preformed in each of the digital machine stand alone modes. It is this key integration step that makes the MIMS design approach so radically different (exactly opposite in approach) from the Client/Server approach discussed earlier. The steps taken in this invention removes most user inconveniences of the information systems on the market today by having the conventional PC digital machine be invisible unless the PC digital machine can be selected from the MIMS model purchased. Requiring the PC digital machine, Client/Server, Programming and Digital “All in One” digital machine Designs to share a single housing provides a much healthier Information Systems growth environment. Such a design approach could do for the information age what the integrated circuit did for the electronic age. It requires the application programmers to work much more closely with the digital machine manufacture designers. This will even become true of the PC digital machine game industry in the future when a MIMS Game digital machine will be added to the home MIMS digital machine to provide a simple flexible, fun digital machine for both adult and children to play games without having to be PC digital machine literate.
The concept of combining several digital machines into the same housing system is not claimed in this invention. The method to combine and share both the software and hardware elements of several digital information digital machines in the same housing system along with selection controls to have more features after integration than before (i.e. functional synergism) is claimed in this invention. There are numerous examples of combining several digital machines in the same housing such as home centers which incorporate TV, Radio, VCR into a single housing. The “All in One” multiple function digital machine was discussed earlier as an example of combining elements in the same housing with a function selector switch to create a multiple function digital machine. However the method of combining elements from multiple digital machines in the same housings in a manner that several digital machines can be selected and in a manner that each selected digital machine has multiple functions has not been done nor has it been done in the manner described herein. Two other earlier digital information digital machines directed at simplifying the process for individuals and businesses where invented by the current author. The Point of Sale Information Manufacturing Digital machine (POSIMM) was invented in the early 1980's, U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,643 and the first modern electronic message unit was invented in the late 1980's U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,797. Since then and especially in the last three years there have been many improvements in these digital machines. One digital machine (Trade name “Touch Net” usually found in airports and malls) for copy and fax service has a simple touch command screen to sell these services. They recently expanded the digital machine functions to include Internet access along with local merchant information services. The “Touch Net” retail digital machine along with the Card, Music, and similar Information Kiosk's located in Drug stores and Malls are covered by the '643 POSIMM patent and are good examples of single digital multifunction information digital machine that work. Another class of single digital information multiple function digital machines that work well are the retail Franchise digital machines (Macdonald, Burger King, Kroger, Jiffy Lube, etc) which utilize a touch command digital machine to operate the company retail store. Most all of these multiple function digital machines are operated by persons not PC digital machine literate.
An example of a single digital multifunction information digital machine that is very impractical to operate is a PC digital machine running windows95/98. Very few people can operate the digital machine and most do not try because of the digital machine complexity. Furthermore the digital machine can perform almost no useful functions unless it is connected to other digital machines and additional software elements are added, a very striking example of the industries fragmentation.
Internet communication systems for generating information have surfaced which will eventually greatly increase the productivity of the individual at the office and home. A significant one in terms of the need for a MIMS is the interactive Web site covered by U.S. Pat. No. 5,694,162. Interactive Web sites puts the consumer in direct contact with the information or product manufacture. The '162 patent allows all companies (or individuals) to have both low cost advertising and direct sales from a single Broadcast station located on the WWW. The Web Site technology is causing vast information databases to be created along with virtual stores selling information and other products worldwide. The need for a MIMS that includes an Internet Digital machine with the features being incorporated into the current Web TV set top boxes is already apparent. Because of the industry fragmentation, the proliferation of application programs being developed to turn a PC digital machine into a useful digital machine for daily tasks are expanding geometrically (excluding PC digital machine game applications). This current situation occurred in less than 10 years and has led to astounding user choice chaos. By way of example, there are no less than 20 software programs designed to turn a PC digital machine into a message or communication center (e.g. Communicate! PRO is one such PC digital machine program). Each of them has at least four modes (multifunction ability) such as a, Phone, Pager, E-mail, and Fax mode. In addition each of the 20 programs must be made to work on the individuals PC digital machine which is no simple task with the proliferation of PC digital machine models and software operating systems. Thus 20 programs each with 4 functions to learn and say 10 PC digital machine configurations (counting portables) require a user knowledge base of 20×4×10=800 sets of procedures.
These are associated with just one type of useful digital multifunction information digital machine where a PC digital machine is used to integrate the 20 software elements into the digital machine. Expanding the above example to say at least 30 good multifunctional digital machines being required in today's world and each with 3 price models leads to 72,000 sets of procedures in the current approach of letting the PC digital machine be the primary integration digital machine. But it gets worse, the requirement that multiple digital machines be connected to the PC digital machine in order to have useful information digital machine for home and office further compounds the present situation. The other connected digital machines such as, printers, Faxes, copiers, scanners; ISP's yield another multiplier of say 10(type digital. machines)×6(manufactures for each digital machine) which is 60. Thus we are talking at a minimum of 60×72000, or over four million sets of procedures cast upon today's user with the current design approach. Such and approach has clearly created To Many Digital machines (TMM) and To Much Information (TMI) for even the very PC digital machine literate to master. Considering that only a few percent of the working population are or will be PC digital machine literate indicates why single digital information digital machines like the “All in One” and Web TV will be the only practical solution (i.e. digital machine integration must happen just like circuit integration happened before). It also shows why the De-coupling of programmers from digital machine designers over the last ten years has led to choice chaos.
The MIMS design approach advocates solving the TMM/TMI problem by combining the many single digital information digital machines into only a few single housing Multi-digital machines where each digital machine has multiple function or subgroup modes and where each mode has several useful functions. For example let the 30 single multifunction digital machines used in the earlier example be incorporated into say 5 MIMS digital machines (and average of six information digital machines per MIMS). Let these be made by say 6 major manufacturers, each with a low cost medium cost and high cost version (3 price models as before). Then only 6×3×5=90 MIMS would have to be understood by the professionals and probably no more than 10 for the average individual (Military versions would clearly have some special digital machine modes). Again, letting each of the 6 MIMS digital machines selected have 4 functions gives a maximum set of 360 operational procedures to be digested instead of over four million.
Note that the first example is very close to representing the current TMM/TMI situation. A dependence on a digital machine integration approach developed by programmers rather than digital machine manufacturers is clearly leading to a situation akin to the electronics industry complexity explosion prior to the integrated circuit. Also remembering Mainframe Computer Technology dependence lessons (the early form of client/server systems) should be enough, to remind us to keep new digital machine integration simple for the user and independent of computer administrators. Especially when integrating the new Internet Service Provider (ISP) communication protocols and document formats into user friendly systems.
This is not to say that a MIMS digital machine should not have the ability to have a PC digital machine selection and connect to networks. It is to say, trying to extend the PC digital machine beyond its useful 4 to 10 functions (note that this is a well known limit in humans for any digital machine) such as, accounting, spread sheets, database mining, Word processing, calculator, etc using application programmers with no digital machine constraints has led to massive TMM/TMI for both companies and individuals.
The Client/Server (C/S) solutions being created today by companies such as Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, Cisco for example, is like re-creating the old mainframe departments and programmers that went along with renaissance mainframes. Today the TMM/TMI problem is creating the IT, Webmaster, Certified Technician, to deal with the more than 4,000,000 sets of procedures illustrated in the earlier example. The C/S approach is practical to solve large database and communication infrastructure problems, but should stay invisible to the individual who has the day to day responsibility of operating the company and personal information digital machines. The office and home Information Digital machines of the future should be very simple to operate and not require PC digital machine literacy for most routine daily tasks.
In summary, there currently is not a multiple digital machine integration approach to combine the shareable elements in PC digital machines, office digital machines, multimedia digital machines, communication digital machines, ISP digital machines, and the many Peripheral digital machines, into several simpler digital machine systems for the convenience of the company or individual. That is, a need exists for a simple MIMS, by which a person can perform most of one's daily personal and business tasks simply and conveniently without having to be PC digital machine literate. Currently a user is required to operate a PC digital machine connected to many other digital machines often located in remote locations in order to perform most of the daily functions required. The invention herein is referred to as the “MIMS” approach to distinguish it from the prior art multiple function and network integration approaches discussed.